Online craps, rules, strategy, best casinos

When you walk into a casino, perhaps the most alluring sight is the throng of people gathered around the craps table. However, the game can be intimidating because of the sheer number of possible bets and the different odds that you need to remember. Craps, it turns out, is a fairly easy game to understand and is by far one of the most exciting and thrilling games at the casino. If you play the game right, craps has the best odds in the entire casino and being able to have a large group of people play together against the casino creates comradery and excitement.

The game of craps is a specialty dice game based on the relative odds of a certain number being tossed with the the roll of two small red dice. You play your odds against the dice and the casino then pays you based on the odds of your number coming up. Craps can also be conducive to the occasional bet based on a guess or intuition if you wish to just play for fun. However, you absolutely need to have a craps strategy that you stick to if you wish to build a bankroll.

Either way you play, craps is a thrilling and fun game to play in the casinos. Please take some time to explore our articles which will be constantly updated. We tell you the basic facts about the rules of craps and the various bets that you can make like:

We also offer you a chance to play free online craps and we give you a few suggestions for the best casinos to play online craps, either for free or for real money.

So please take a few minutes to explore our site and learn how to play online craps or you can just try playing some Online Craps.

Online Craps Rules

Craps can be an extremely intimidating sight at the casinos. The craps table itself is intimidating with a whole bunch of boxes and numbers that don’t mean anything to a novice. Online craps rules however, are fairly simple. After reading this section, as well as becoming familiar with craps terminology, craps odds, and running through our craps lessons, learning how to play craps should be straightforward and easy. You should also give our free online craps game a try.

Before learning the craps rules, you need to first become familiar with the layout of the craps table. Take a look at the table below.

Each box represents a bet that you can make. You can bet with or against the dice. Each of the bets that you can make will be described in detail on this site. Don’t worry too much right now about the terms you see on the table. First let’s explain the whole point of the game of craps.

The point of craps to to play the dice. The first roll of the dice is called the come out roll. The number that is rolled by the dice is called the point. A boxman will place a white disc on the point number on the table. The point can only be among the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10. The player who is rolling must roll this number again before he rolls a 7. Rolling a 7 is called craps. Also, if the roller rolls a 2, 3 or 12 on the come out roll, this is also craps and no point is set. If a 7 or an 11 is rolled on the come out roll, the round ends immediately although this is not considered craps. The betters around the table can place bets on whether or not the roller will make the point before he craps out. There are additional bets that can be made depending on how brave the bettor is. The round continues with rolls until a either the point or a 7 is rolled, at which time all bets are cleared and the point is off.

Players can place bets on any number and they can bet for it to come by placing “buy bets” or they can bet against the dice by placing “lay bets”. Players can also bet the field, or they can bet on specific die combinations, like 6-6 or they can even bet for craps to come. All of the craps bets you can make are detailed on this site and you should read through each one carefully.

Lesson 1: Pass Line and Don’t Pass Bets

Pass Line Bets are the most popular and easiest to understand bet that you can make in online craps. Some professionals consider making only pass line bets a very effective strategy. To place a pass line bet, you place your chips in the area marked “PASS LINE” outlined in the craps table below. Betting the pass line is often referred to as a “right betting” strategy.

You place a pass line bet before the first roll of the dice, also called the “come out roll”. The marker used by the casino should be in the black “OFF” position. The shooter then rolls the dice to start the round. If the shooter rolls a 7 or an 11, this is called a “natural” and the pass line bet wins even money. Rolling a 2, 3 or a 12 is called craps, and the pass line bet loses. Any other number, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, on the come out roll becomes the “point”. The shooter must roll this number again before rolling a 7 for the pass line bet to win.

Lets say that you’ve placed $5 on the pass line at the start of a round. The first roll of the dice is a 4. This roll establishes the “point” as 4. The next roll is a 2. Nothing happens to your money. The next roll, however, is a 4. This is the point number and you’ve won. You will be paid $10, a healthy 100% profit on your investment.

There are additional bets that you can make on the pass line called “odds bets”. Odds bets are placed by putting additional chips behind your initial pass line bet after the point has been established. The advantage of odds bets is that it pays out at true odds. Lets stick to the example from above. For example, you have 3 possible ways of rolling an 4, and 6 possible ways of crapping out with a 7. The true odds, then, are 2 to 1. Therefore, if you were to place an additional $5 odds bet behind your initial $5 pass line bet, you would be paid 2 to 1 for your odds bet. You would walk away with $5 from the pass line bet and $10 for the odds bet, for a total profit of $15, a 150% profit. Some casinos allow varying amounts of odds bets, but most online casino craps offer only a 3x odds bet. You should read about craps odds to see how odds bets reduce the house advantage to nearly even money.

Don’t Pass Line Bets are very similar to pass line bets. They are placed in the area marked “DON’T PASS”. Players who place don’t pass bets are sometimes referred to as “wrong bettors”. A Don’t Pass bet is placed before the come out roll. It pays out immediately if a 2 or a 3 is rolled. You lose immediately if an 11 or a 7 is rolled. Rolling a 12 results in a push. Any other number establishes the point. A don’t pass bet is betting that the point will NOT be rolled before craps (7) is rolled. Winning a don’t pass bet pays out at even money (1 to 1). As with a pass line bet, odds can be placed on a don’t pass bet to pay out even odds that the number will not come.

Pass line bets are all you will need to fully understand to begin playing online craps and begin developing a craps betting strategy of your own. Feel free to give it a try, or continue reading about the other possible craps bets.

Lesson 2: Come and Don’t Come Bets

Come Bets are another very popular craps bet in addition to pass line bets. The betting itself is very similar and you should read up on the pass line bet for a little background on come bets. Come bets are placed in the large box in the middle of the craps table marked, “COME”.

Come bets are just like playing a new pass line bet but it is made after the come out roll (the first one) has established a point. After you place your bet, the next point that the shooter rolls becomes your own personal come-point and your chips are placed on that number. The shooter must roll this point again before craps in order for the bet to win. As with pass line bets, come bets win immediately if a natural 7 or a 11 is rolled on the come-point, and lose if a 2, 3 or 12 craps is rolled. Come bets pay out at even money.

You can also make odds bets on your come bet. After the come point has been rolled, you can place chips next to your initial come bet. Most online casinos allow 3x odds, but sometimes they allow up to 10x odds. This is fully explained in our odds bets page. Odds bets are a way for you to increase the payout that the casino gives you if your come point is rolled because odds bets are paid at true odds. For example, say that you place a $5 come bet after the point has been established. The next roll is a 4 and is the come point. After a few blank rolls, another 4 is rolled. You will win $5. However, if you had placed an additional odds bet after the 4 was rolled, you would have won an additional $10 for a total of $15 profit. You are paid out at 2 to 1 odds for the 4 because there are 3 possible ways to roll a 4 and 6 possible ways to roll a 7. Please read about craps odds for the odds on the rest of the numbers. Knowing as much as possible about odds bets and understanding craps odds can help you reduce the casino advantage to nearly zero making for a very profitable craps session.

The difference between come bets and pass line bets comes with the fact that you can place multiple come bets per round while you can only place on pass line bet per round. In fact, if you wanted, you could place a come bet on each roll and also take the odds on each bet. This kind of betting pays off well but usually requires a larger bankroll and you need some tolerance for big swings when the dice go cold. Another advantage to making a come bet is that it can lessen the pain of crapping out on a pass line bet. Remember that pass line bets will lose if a 7 is rolled before the point. However if you placed a come bet on that roll, the 7 will result in a natural win for you. However, come bets can sometimes be left on the table when the pass line point comes because come bets won’t be removed until the come point or craps is rolled. Most casinos give you the option of removing your come bet if you feel it’s not going to be rolled.

Don’t come bets are the opposite of come bets and similar to don’t pass bets. The roll following a don’t come bet becomes the don’t come point roll. If a 2 or a 3 is rolled, the don’t come bet wins. If a 7 or a 11 is rolled, the come bet loses. A 12 results in a push. Any other number becomes the don’t come point and your chips are moved to the don’t come bar above the number that is rolled. Don’t come bets are betting against the shooter. Essentially you want craps to come before the come point is rolled. Don’t come bets pay out at even money. As with come bets, odds bets can also be made with don’t come bets.

Lesson 3: Odds Bets

Odds bets are additional bets that can be placed on existing Pass and Don’t Pass Bets, as well as Come and Don’t Come Bets but can only be placed once the point has been established. You should become familiar with these bets before trying to learn about odds bets. You can also learn about odds bets by reading our guides on those bets by clicking on the links or using the navigation menu on the left. Odds bets are placed behind your original bet that you have already placed in the come or pass areas. Unresolved odds bets can be removed from the table if you change your mind.

Most casinos allow you to place an odds bet that is 3 times your original bet. However, you can sometimes find casinos that will allow up to 10x odds bets. This is rare though, so we will continue to assume that you are playing at a 3x odds casino. Odds bets are a way for a player to buy better odds against the casino’s house advantage. For example, a simple pass line bet pays out at 2 to 1. However, odds bets pay out at true odds, meaning that they pay out depending on the chances of rolling the point. In some cases, you can lower the casino advantage to 0.18%. You should probably learn more about craps odds before trying odds bets.

Pass odds and come odds pay 2 to 1 on a roll of 4 or 10, 3 to 2 on a roll of 5 and 9, and 6 to 5 on a roll of 6 and 8. Don’t pass odds pay 1 to 2 on a roll of 4 or 10, 2 to 3 on a roll of 5 and 9, 5 to 6 on a roll of 6 and 8.

Place a pass line odds bet by clicking on the craps table outside of the “PASS LINE” bar, under your original pass line bet. A winning pass line odds bet pays true odds: 2 to 1 on a roll of 4 or 10, 3 to 2 on a roll of 5 or 9, and 6 to 5 on a roll of 6 or 8.

Place a don’t pass line odds bet by clicking on the right side of your original bet in the “Don’t Pass Bar”, exactly on the 6×6 dice image. A winning don’t pass line odds bet pays true odds: 1 to 2 on a roll of 4 or 10, 2 to 3 on a roll of 5 or 9, and 5 to 6 on a roll of 6 or 8.

Come and don’t come odds bets are placed beneath the Come and Don’t come bets, after they have been moved to the point’s box.

A winning come bet odds pays: 2 to 1 on a roll of 4 or 10, 3 to 2 on a roll of 5 or 9, and 6 to 5 on a roll of 6 or 8.

A winning don’t come bet odds pays: 1 to 2 on a roll of 4 or 10, 2 to 3 on a roll of 5 or 9, and 5 to 6 on a roll of 6 or 8.

Lesson 4: Field Bets

The field bet is an extremely simple bet to make. The area for making a field bet lies right above the don’t pass bar on the craps table in the area marked “FIELD”.

Field bets are a one time bet that a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 will be rolled on the next roll. If you win your bet, you are paid even money (1 to 1). If a 5, 6, 7, or 8 is rolled, you lose your bet. Most casinos also pay out at 2 to 1 for rolling a 2 (snake eyes), and 3 to 1 for rolling a 12 (boxcars).

One of the advantages of the field bet, aside from it being an extremely simple bet to make, is that you can place it at any time. You do not have to wait for a point to be rolled, or for craps. The casino advantage is around 5.5% so the bet is not as advantageous as making a pass line or come bet with additional odds bets. You can check out the odds for all of the possible wagers on our craps odds page.

Lesson 6: Place Bets

Place bets are bets that can be placed at any time during play but are not considered in play until a point has been rolled on the come out roll. Place bets are made by putting your bet in the box above or below the number you wish to bet on. See the craps table below for a schematic. Place bets can be made on 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10.

There are two ways to make place bets. You can either bet with or against the shooter, acting as right bettor or a wrong bettor. To bet with the shooter, you are hoping that they roll your number before they seven out and you put your place bet below the number you wish to bet on. Place lose bets pay off if a seven is rolled before your number is rolled and are placed above the number you wish to place bet.

The payout for place bets depend on the number you bet on.

Place Win Bets Payout:

6 and 8 pay 7 to 6

5 and 9 pay 7 to 5

4 and 10 pay 9 to 5

Place Lose Bets Payout:

6 and 8 pay 4 to 5

5 and 9 pay 5 to 8

4 and 10 pay 5 to 11

You should notice that these payout schedules are much worse than pass line bets and come bets. The casino advantage is higher on place bets and you can’t take odds bets on place bets so you are much better off to make those types of bets as opposed to place bets. You should refer to the craps odds to learn which bets to make.

Lesson 7: Proposition Bets

Proposition bets are one roll bets that can be made at any time during play. They are placed in the center of the table, with the exception of Big 6 and Big 8 bets which are made at either end. Refer to the craps table below for locating proposition bets.

The various proposition bets are outlined below. Please notice that the casino advantage on these bets is very high. In other words, the likelyhood of winning a proposition bet is not equal to the payout. Refer to our craps odds for more information.

Big 6 and Big 8 Bets
Place your chips in the box marked Big 6 or Big 8. If the number you select is rolled before a 7, you win even money (1 to 1).

Any 7 Bets
Place your chips in the area “Seven”. You win this bet if a 7 is rolled on the next toss of the dice.

This bet pays 4 to 1.

Any 11 Bets
Place your chips in the box with the two dice that add up to 11. You win this bet if an 11 is rolled in the next toss of the dice. If 11 is rolled, you win 15 times your bet.

Any Craps Bets
In any craps bet, you win if one of the craps numbers (2, 3, or 12) is rolled in the next toss of the dice. The any craps bet is placed in the “Any Craps” box.

This bet pays 7 to 1.

C & E Bets
The letters C and E represent two different bets:

C bet: This is the same as placing a bet on the “Any Craps” betting area. Click on the letter C to place your chips in the “Any Craps” betting area.

E bet: This is the same as placing a bet on the Any 11 bet. Click on the letter E to place your chips in the “Any 11” betting area.

Horn Bets
Place your chips in the box where the two dice add up to 2, 3, 11, or 12. The horn bet wins if the shooter rolls a 2, 3, 11 or 12 on the next toss of the dice. A winning horn bet pays 15 to 1 on the numbers 3 and 11 and 30 to 1 on numbers 2 and 12.

Lesson 8: Hardways Bets

Hardways Bets are very low odds bets that many people make because the payout is so lucrative. However, the odds of hitting a hardways bet heavily favor the casinos, so making frequent hardways bets is probably not a good idea. However, the idea is to have fun, so placing a hardways bet from time to time may make the game more fun, depending on your style of play. The place for making hardways bets is in the middle of the table, as outlined below.

A Hardway bet bets that the shooter will roll a 4, 6, 8, or 10 as doubles (2+2, 3+3, 4+4, or 5+5) before rolling a 7. The Hardway bet is placed in the box on the craps table that contains the two dice that correspond to the number the doubles. Rolling a number by doubles is said to be rolling the number “the hard way.” An example is rolling a 4 with a 2 and a 2. An example of an easy way is rolling a 4 with a 3 and a 1. A winning Hardway bet pays 7 to 1 on numbers 4 and 10 and 9 to 1 on numbers 6 and 8.